.,.. _____________ _ 1 It is very important that this Joint Panel - PDF document

LF A 34 Management Board Pre sentation to the Joint Review Panel Whites Point Quarry and Marine Terminal Project Public Hearings June 27, 2007 Plan: Who we are - LFA 34 Mgmt Board 1. 2. Ecosystem management areas I interconnectedness of the region 3. Concerns - Impact of Whites Point Quarry on the lobster fishery i - Sediment ii - Chemical run-off iii - Invasive species iv - Displacement of fish harvesters v - Blasting vi - Environmental monitoring 4. Summary S. Recommendations Lobster Fishing Area 34 (LF A 34) Management Board - represents approximately 985 fish harvesters who h ol d a valid lobster licence to fish in LF A 34. In 2005 the LF A 34 landed ca t ch of 16 ,000 metric tonnes had a landed value of $235, 500 million dollars. Exporters of lobster products in 2002-2003 had a record value for their products at nearly a billion dollars. The lobster industry creates approximately 10,000 jobs and this fishery is notably the soci al , cultural, and economic driv ing force of Southwestern Nova Scotia. The coastal waters that border the proposed White Point Quarry lies within the LF A 34 fishing grounds. DFO Identified Management Areas: In ecosystem based mana gement it is necessary to consider what takes place in one area bas an influence on the overall ecosystem. White Point Quarry lies within the Gulf of Maine which was ann ounced to be on e of Canada's proposed large ocean mana gemen t areas (LOMA) by Faith Scattalon of Fisheries and Oceans Canada at the 2004 Gulf of Maine Swnm.it. Cana dian and United States Fish harvesters, scientists, DFO and US marine managers have held th eir fourth annual Lobstermen TownHall Meeting to discuss research and management of their linked lobster fishery ecosystem. In 1995, DFO designated Lobster Fishing Areas 34, 35 , 36, 38 , and 41that includes the F und y Saint Mary's B ay to the Hague Line (the US I C anad a ocean waters of the Bay of border as Lobster Prod uction Area 7 (LP A 7). RECEIVED JUN 2 7 2007 .,.. _____________ _ 1

It is very important that this Joint Panel Review acknowledge and take into serious consideration the interconnectedness of the waters and marine life within Lobster Production Area 7 and not condone the idea that the 'area of impact' from this proposed quarry operation will be only a 7.5 X 2.5 mile radius of Fundy waters adjacent to the proposed quarry site. Digby N eek and the Islands border the Bay of Fundy on one side and Saint Mary's Bay on the other. These two bodies of water are connected by two passages with strong tidal currents and Saint Mary's Bay opens into the Bay of Fundy. Larvae drift studies carried out in 2001 by Drinkwater et al (1-12) provide evidence for the importance of Saint Mary's Bay as a lobster nursery and juvenile habitat. An example that illustrate the Fundy currents that are the driving force of the interconnectedness of this region: • An aquaculture cage broke free from Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick and washed ashore at Salmon River just below Cape Saint Mary, Saint Mary's Bay. One example of current directional drift is a vessel when it breaks down near the shore with the Fundy tide going out. The vessel will drift down the Bay at the same time as drifting out towards mid-Bay. This example was substantiated June 20, 2007 by Mr. Taggart's Buoy Drift Study showing where the currents will carry sediments and chemical released from the proposed quarry site. The impact of the Whites Point Quam and Marine Terminal The imoact of sediment settlement from mining and quarries on lobster nursery and juvenile grounds is a concern for lobster fish harvesters and others such as, DFO scientists, DFO managers, and scientist working in collaboration with DFO. At a LF A 34 Management Workshop (2000: 12) Bill Congleton, a Scientist from the University of Maine, explains the term "critical habitat" as "habitat necessary for the survival of juveniles, in the case oflobster, this means a cobble type bottom." Doug Pezzack, a DFO Scientist, repeated his concern regarding the impending risks suggesting that "precautionary measures to protect the ecosystems and habitats should be a priority. There are some serious concerns" ... Pezzack warns that "if we are not willing to pay a high price later, we should begin addressing these concerns now" (LF A 34 2000: 12). This was 7 years ago and still nothing has been done to protect ecosystems and habitat in LF A 34. Peter Lawton, a DFO Scientist, confirms the need for immediate action to protect A 34 when he stated: "If 'critical lobster habitat' in LF the critical habitat of a species disappears, so does that species" (LFA 34 2000: 12). The 2001 Caddy Report ( 4 3, 44) confirms these Canadian and American Scientists' concern need to protect juvenile lobster habitat. Caddy's report confirms that juvenile lobster pass a significant phase in their pre-recruitment life in "crevices in cobble bottom where they are protected from predation. Such cobble bottom areas are rare below tide marks and rather limited in extent. If so, their limited area could be a 'bottleneck' for the production of pre-recruits ... the limit to recruitment could be the absence of crevices of suitable size." 2

The DFO Lobster Conservation Strategy (2004) outlines the concern about abundance of pre-recruits and the fear that with the industry's dependence on new recruits that if a year class failure occurs this would have an immediate effect on the landings and on future recruitment. Drinkwater (2002) suggests there is a strong correlation between the abundance of lobster larvae settlement to recruitment. The 2001 Drinkwater study points out that Saint Mary's Bay is an area where lobster settlement is high and raises the question as to why this region has low lobster catches. Evidence is clear that lobster settlement areas need to be protected. The Joint Review Panel must recommend that decision makers err on the side of caution. The accumulation of sediment over fifty plus years pose a high risk to critical nurseries, juvenile lobster habitat and too many marine species. Adult lobster will not return to an area where silt covers hiding places and where there is no food. Lobster in larval stage four (stage of settlement) will by-pass an area where sediment accumulation covers cobbled or rocky habitat. The priority must be to protect Saint Mary's Bay as a critical nursery and juvenile lobster habitat from any further influence from sediment settlement and chemical drifts. It is unknown where the larvae of lobster that spawn in Saint Mary's Bay settle. It is a known fact that lobster larvae drift great distances in ocean currents (Drinkwater 2000). Sediment and chemical drifts from the proposed Whites Point Quarry will have a far- reaching impact in the Bay of Fundy and Saint Mary's Bay. At the 2004 Lobster Science Workshop in Charlottetown Fred Page, a Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientist, presented his findings on sediment drift from aquaculture sites that shocked the lobster industry. Pictures taken over a period of time from a helicopter showed an immense spread of sediment over great distances from an aquaculture site. This study shows the importance for decision makers to increase the area of impact for industrial development. It also shows that the impact of sediment drift and sediment accumulation that result from industrial development must be taken into serious consideration when determining the long term impact on marine habitat. Chemicals are inherently used in the rock mining/quarry operations. The high risk of chemicals leaching into the water column either through controlled release or as a result of inclement weather or atmospheric storms have been pointed out at these public hearings. Chemical poses an unacceptable risk to the lobster industry and to other fisheries. Burridge et al (1999) noted that chemical patches drift in currents. Lobster larvae drift in those same currents. Studies carried out by Burridge et al (1999) show that aquaculture pesticides are lethal to lobster larvae. Studies by Susan Waddy (2002: 1096) warns that aquaculture pesticides causes egg-bearing females to abort and in some cases result in death of the animal. Last week on June 20th Chris Taggart presented his findings from a buoy drift study that showed the White Point I Fundy current patterns. Mr. Taggart's study of tidal currents in the proposed quarry area looked at the direction and distance of current drift during low 3